Tales of the Marauders Map
by i.paint.the.sky
Summary: After receiving the Marauders Map during PoA, Remus Lupin remembers his time at Hogwarts.  Written for the JC House Cup, Year 6.  ONE-SHOT.


The Marauder's Map  
  
Dedicated to Lacey, my favourite beta, as always. Not that my other betas weren't great too.  
  
Professor Remus J. Lupin sat in his office, staring at the blank piece of parchment which lay on his desk. It had been many years since he had seen this particular page; in fact, he had never thought he would ever lay eyes on it again. But here it was, in his possession once again. The Marauder's Map.  
  
Discovering it tonight, in Severus' office, had been quite a shock. But even greater was the shock that Harry had had the map. It had also been a bit shocking, and quite amusing, to see what the map had written to the Potions Master. Severus of course had immediately recognized the old nicknames. How many times had he heard them while the Marauders had been tormenting him?  
  
Lupin sighed sadly, remembering the rivalry between Snape and his friends. But he pushed the feelings away. Regret was almost never useful, especially around someone who still refused to forgive and forget.  
  
He focused on the good times. There had been so many. His time as a Hogwarts student had been the best seven years of his life. And it was with fond memories that he fell into his reverie, speaking the words.  
  
*~*~*  
  
"I'll solemnly swear that I am up to no good."  
  
Remus laughed at his friend, Sirius Black. "Of course you aren't. When have you ever been up to anything that was even remotely good?"  
  
"Why, never of course. But today I'm being especially mischievous, if I do say so myself."  
  
"Well, you just did," interjected James Potter calmly, barely looking up from his copy of Quidditch Through the Ages. "So, get on with it and tell us what you're up to Padfoot."  
  
"Is Padfoot up to something?" said Peter, as he walked into the conversation.  
  
"Isn't he always?" replied Remus, with a smile.  
  
Sirius made a sound of pure annoyance. "If you're all through now, may I continue and actually tell you what I'm planning on doing?"  
  
"Why of course, Sirius. We've been waiting with baited breath for you to do just that," said James, finally marking his place in the book and laying it on the end table.  
  
"Good. So, here's the plan: The four of us know the Hogwarts school inside and out, like the back of our hands, right?"  
  
His audience all nodded their assent.  
  
"Right. So, why don't we use that knowledge and create, drum roll please." He paused here, until Peter finally started hitting his hands on the table in a drum-like fashion.  
  
"A map!"  
  
"A map?" exclaimed Remus. "Are you serious? No pun intended of course."  
  
"Yes, I am serious, and I KNOW that there is no pun intended, so you really don't have to say that all the time Moony."  
  
"All right Padfoot. But still, a map? Why would we want to make a plain, ordinary map?"  
  
"Ah, but it wouldn't be plain and ordinary. It would show off our considerable knowledge of the grounds, primarily showing the secret passages. Maybe, if we're really good, we could even get the Room of Requirement to show up!"  
  
"Yeah, yeah," said James, his brown eyes sparkling. "Even better. We could have people appear on the map, where they are and who they're with!"  
  
"Right!!!" Sirius exclaimed.  
  
"Um, but wouldn't that make the map a bit, um, cluttered?" asked Peter, always a little nervous before signing on for Sirius' various endeavours.  
  
"Well, maybe we'll only make people appear if there is a reason for them to appear. Like, if we're trying to figure out where Filch and that mangy cat are."  
  
"That would be bloody brilliant," said Peter, his voice now full of excitement.  
  
"Right," said Remus, his tone of voice doubtful. "And how exactly would this be done Sirius?"  
  
"Well, I'm not exactly sure about that yet. But we'll find a way. After all, we did manage to become Animagi, didn't we?"  
  
"Yes, yes you did. And you know I'm thankful for that. But, still I wonder, is this map idea even possible?"  
  
*~*~*  
  
Lupin smiled happily at the memory. It had indeed been possible. Through the use of countless magical spells, charms and even one potion if he remembered correctly, they had created the Marauder's Map.  
  
*~*~*  
  
"WOW."  
  
That was all anyone could say, as the four Gryffindors known as the Marauders stood around their creation. It had taken almost two-thirds of their sixth year to achieve, but they had finally managed to create the aptly-named "Marauder's Map".  
  
"What do we do now?" inquired Peter, as he stared wide-eyed at paper.  
  
"Well, try it out of course," replied Sirius.  
  
"What if it doesn't work?" Remus asked, who always felt more apprehension about such misdeeds as wandering the halls after hours. He was one of the Gryffindor prefects after all, and was thus expected to set an example for the younger house members. A good example.  
  
"It will work. Don't be such a spoilsport Moony."  
  
"I'm not being a spoilsport. I'm just being realistic. We have no idea whether this map is actually foolproof."  
  
"And that, my friend, is why we test it."  
  
It was finally agreed that James and Sirius would go and test the map, as both of them would be able to hide under Prongs' infamous Invisibility Cloak.  
  
While they were gone, Remus and Peter were left to play chess, waiting and wondering what they were missing.  
  
Finally, James and Sirius came crashing back into the Common Room.  
  
"It's perfect!" yelled Sirius. "Just perfect!"  
  
*~*~*  
  
And it was, for their purposes. The Marauder's Map was flawless, always showing the truth about what was going on in Hogwarts. Lupin laughed at the fun they had had, running circles around Filch or spying on the Slytherin Common Room.  
  
The map allowed the Marauders to carry out great amounts of mischief. And, as Lupin remembered with great relief, it also had kept that mischief from going beyond limits.  
  
It was through the Marauder's Map that James had seen Severus Snape heading towards the Shrieking Shack, one fateful night at the end of sixth- year. And it was through the Map that James had been able to reach the Slytherin in time, before the unthinkable happened.  
  
Lupin would never really understand Sirius for his actions that night, though perhaps it was an early warning of what was to come later, when he betrayed James and Lily to their deaths. And now he had escaped from Azkaban and was coming for Harry.  
  
He shivered, thinking about what would have happened had the Marauder's Map fallen into Sirius' hands, as had Neville's list of passwords. He had not enjoyed his dressing down of Harry, but it had been necessary. The danger of the current world could not be ignored. That was how one got oneself killed.  
  
Lupin shook his head, trying to make the morbid thoughts leave his mind. Now was not the time to be obsessing over Sirius' next move. No one could predict a madman, and that was what Sirius appeared to be right now.  
  
It was much better to concentrate on the past, the simpler times when the four Marauders had been alive and together, as close as brothers.  
  
In their seventh year, Lupin had finally been able to forgive Sirius for his rash and incredibly idiotic actions. One night, shortly after this reconciliation, Sirius, Peter and he had been wandering the halls, while James and Lily met with Dumbledore, as part of their duties as Head Boy and Head Girl. The other three Marauders were sneaking around in the library, looking for a specific book in the Restricted Section.  
  
*~*~*  
  
"Damn, where is it?" Sirius exclaimed in frustration. "Why isn't anything organized in a method even remotely resembles sanity?"  
  
"Shhhh, keep it down Padfoot," Remus hissed. "And just because you don't understand it, doesn't mean that the method is insane."  
  
"Do you understand it Moony?"  
  
"No. But Madame Pince does, and that's all that matters, right? Because, in normal situations, she would be the one to retrieve such books."  
  
"Oh, well you have a point there. But I've always said Pince was a little bit batty."  
  
Suddenly a harsh voice echoed through the library. "I know you're in there," said Argus Filch.  
  
"Peter! You were supposed to be watching the map!" Sirius cried out, as the boys ducked for cover.  
  
"I got distracted."  
  
"I'd say!"  
  
"Padfoot, Wormtail, this isn't the time for arguing. How are we going to get past him?"  
  
"Follow me," Sirius said, leading them off towards the end of the shelf.  
  
And right into Filch.  
  
"Ah, now what do we have here? Some Gryffindors are out of their beds. And a prefect at that! Oh dear, we are in trouble now."  
  
Filch's eyes dropped to the piece of paper that Sirius was holding. "What's that?"  
  
"Um, nothing," Sirius said quickly. "A piece of spare parchment."  
  
"Let me see it!"  
  
Filch reached out, and grabbed the map away. But as he did, Remus could hear Sirius softly say "Mischief managed".  
  
*~*~*  
  
That had been the last time, until now, that Lupin had seen the Marauder's Map. Filch had never been able to discover what it was, but he obviously had known enough to realize it was some sort of magic. And then, through some odd twist in fate, in had ended up in Harry's possession.  
  
But perhaps that was where it belonged. The Marauders were no more, but a new generation had come to Hogwarts. Harry was James' son, though thankfully he took after Lily in many ways. Maybe he should have the map.  
  
Yes, the map belonged with Harry. Lupin would return it to him, someday. But not until he was safe from Padfoot, the Prisoner of Azkaban.  
  
Note: See how I also coyly explained the mystery of how Harry got the Marauder's Map back for GoF??? 


End file.
